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Japan

Japan is one of the world's most ethnically and culturally homogeneous nations, but down the ages its culture and society have been greatly influenced by foreign ideas and institutions, art and literature.

The wholesale importation of Chinese religious and political institutions during the sixth century was followed by a long and essentially 'Japanese' feudal period, which was to last until the 19th century.

The Meiji Restoration of 1868 brought to power rulers dedicated to the pursuit of national modernisation, under whose guidance Japan quickly became a world power. Although Japan's subsequent bid for empire ended in disaster, the years after 1945 witnessed an economic miracle which brought spectacular wealth as well as the westernisation of much of Japanese life.

Palaeolithic tool finds suggest that human settlement in Japan stretches back at least 30,000 years. The first inhabitants of the Japanese islands were hunter-gatherers from the continent who used sophisticated stone tools, but had no settled agriculture or ceramics.

The defeat of the Taira clan at the hands of Minamoto no Yoritomo in the Genpei War (1180-1185) paved the way for the establishment of the shogunate, a feudal system of government which would last until 1867.

By the 19th century the Tokugawa Shogunate was in terminal decline, its power weakened by debt and internal division. After a brief civil war in the early 1860s the Tokugawa regime was overthrown and imperial rule restored.

By the end of World War II more than 2 million Japanese lives had been lost and over 100 cities destroyed. Industrial production stood at less than 10 per cent of its pre-war level, and transportation networks had been severely damaged.

The death of Emperor Hirohito in January 1989 brought to an end the longest imperial reign in Japanese history, removing a powerful symbol of continuity. In November 1990 Emperor Akihito became the 125th emperor of Japan and the first under the post-war constitution.